It's Not Easy Being a Demi-Goddess, Chapter 6

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Chapter 6

The village leader's son and daughter were chained to a pillar outside of the temple of Apollo.

The magician and four of his henchmen laughed when there appeared no champion to answer their challenge.

If someone could defeat the Titan they had chained and controlled, they would set the village leader's son and daughter free.

They would also depart from the village, and never return.

If not, they children would be sacrificed to the non-Olympian god they served. The villagers would become their slaves.

"Are there no warriors here who will accept the challenge?" the magician known as Baderess shouted.

There would be no reply for more than 40 days. The village leader, the Chieftain known as Oros, stayed in his tent, most of the
time he was drunk from the wine he drank to drown out his sorrows.

They sent for help, but received no reply from the great General Pericles in Athens. A few curious warriors from Sparta answered
the call, but once they arrived and saw the Titan, even they backed down.

The villagers prayed that maybe Zeus would send his sons Herakles or Perseus. But know their prayers seemed to go unanswered.

A small band of Amazons guarding a procession of priestesses of Artemis happened on the village as they were passing through

Macedonia on the way back from a festival. Queen Melanippe made a vow to the goddess that she would send a company of warriors to protect her priestesses after recent attacks.

"Why are we stopped, my lady?" a young priestess named Lydia asked the queen.

"It seems these villagers have a predicament on their hands," Melanippe replied. "But don't you worry. We'll be on our way soon.

I'm just trying to see if we can offer some kind of assistance. But I'm afraid there is little we can do. Go back and join the other
girls."

Lydia bowed to the queen. She smiled. She loved the fact that the queen had no idea who she was.

Lydia was ordered by High Priestess Phoebe to go to the feast in Galatia.

"You need to learn what we do at festivals," Phoebe said. "I think it's best that you try to keep a low profile."

It was hard for Lydia to do. She had to pass up an archery contest she knew she could easily win as Lysander, much less Lydia.

A priestess from Ephesus made the remark that Lydia bore a remarkable resemblence to the goddess' statue in their temple.

"Me, look like the goddess, why no, you must be mistaken," Lydia replied.

She stayed close to Arianna the whole time. Her sister spent much of the trip giving Lydia tips on how to behave like a girl, a proper priestess in training.

She admitted to Lydia that Lydia was a good learner. The Amazon warriors thought she was nothing more than a proper teenage priestess to be. And a bit dainty.

"What's going on?" Arianna asked when Lydia rejoined the priestesses.

"Not quite sure," Lydia replied. "What do you say we go up and take a look?"

"You think that's wise?" Arianna asked. "Melanippe wants us to stay safely out of trouble."

"I don't want to cause trouble," Lydia said. "I just want to take a look."

"I guess there is no harm in taking a look," Arianna said.

The walked up closer to where the village's warriors stood.

"Where do you think you two are going?" Melanippe asked in a stern voice.

"We're here to offer prayers to the goddess on their behalf," Arianna replied.

The queen relented, but told the two to stay close to her warriors.

"Nice thinking," Lydia said to her sister.

"What do you mean 'nice thinking?' " Arianna replied. "We really are going to offer prayers."

Lydia and Arianna were setting up their alter when the magician shouted from across the valley, issuing another challenge. They looked up and saw the Titan.

"So that's one of great-grandpa Kronus' Titans?" Lydia said to Arianna. "Not much to look at."

"I don't think this is the right time to joke about this," Arianna replied.

"Who's joking? He really is ugly," Lydia said.

Lydia looked around to see the responses to the challenge. The warriors, even the Amazons, looked in some sort of daze.

"It's sad no one will take up the challenge," Lydia said to Arianna.

"Just who do you think can defeat a Titan?" a stern Melanippe said, overhearing the conversation.

Lydia had a lump in her throat.

"Maybe Herakles," Lydia said of the uncle she never met.

"He is not here, and it's best you keep your mouth shut," Melanippe snapped.

"Arianna, go get my bow," Lydia said to her sister, pretending not to hear the irritated Amazon queen.

"You're not!" Arianna asked.

"Herakles isn't here, neither is Perseus," Lydia replied. "None of my other relatives seemed to be interested in coming, not even my mother's favorite brother is here, and these evil people have defiled his temple."

Arianna couldn't argue with logic. She knew her once-brother-now sister had increased strength in female form. But it was untested.

Lydia marched into Oros' tent and announced her intentions. It was greeted by laughter and cursing.

Melanippe marched into the tent and angrily tried to pull Lydia out. Much to everyone's surprise, Lydia lifted the village's army commander up with one hand.

Arianna entered the tent with Lydia's bow.

"My grandfather had this made for my mother," Lydia said. "It was made by Hephestus. Perhaps you know him?"

They were all shocked. They didn't know what to answer.

Lydia emerged from the tent.

Once again, Baderess issued the challenge.

Lydia walked up to the front lines and grabbed a spear from one of the warriors.

"Sorry, I might need this," she said as the warrior gave her a disgusted look.

Baderess and his henchmen were surprised as they saw a lone figure walk out into the valley ... a young girl.

Badaress went to meet Lydia.

"Have you a message from the village, little girl," Baderess asked. "Have they named a champion who has accepted my challenge?"

"I am the one who accepts your challenge," Lydia replied.

The magician laughed, as did his henchmen when he shouted that "a little girl has accepted the challenge to take on the Titan."

"You don't think I'm serious, do you?" Lydia asked.

She took an arrow and placed it in her bow. She shot the arrow, which traveled roughly a half-mile before striking one of the henchmen right in the throat.

"Well, well, I may have underestimated you, little girl," Baderess said.

"I will make one change to your conditions," Lydia said.

"And what is that, little girl?" Badaress replied.

"You and your henchmen won't be making it out alive," Lydia said.

"That's a pretty good boast from a scrawny little girl," Baderess said. "You have proven yourself to be a good archer. But you are about to be ground into bits and eaten by a Titan."

Arianna, Melanippe, Oros and the rest of the camp watched as Baderess and Lydia spoke to one another and wondered what was being said.

Everyone understood what Badaress said next.

"Release the Titan!" he shouted.

The monster emerged from his chains, and stumbled down into the valley. Badaress walked away.

Lydia felt alone as the monster approached her.

"Please mother, help me," she whispered as she watched the Titan pick up a boulder. He hurled it right at her.

Lydia blocked the boulder with her hands. And to much of the surprise of people watching on both sides, the boulder shattered
into several pieces.

It seemed to anger the monster as it ran toward Lydia.

Lydia shot several arrows into the beast, but it kept coming and finally grabbed her.

The Titan threw Lydia about 20 yards. Everyone again was surprised when Lydia picked herself up off the ground.

It hurt. She was sore and bleeding.

She was out of breath. She wondered what she should do. The Titan had a lot more strength than she imagined.

Then she spotted the spear laying on the ground that she grabbed from the warrior.

She raced toward it as the Titan raced toward her.

She reached the spear in time.

The Titan was about 10 yards away when Lydia heaved it right in the monster's direction.

The spear hit the Titan right in the heart. It stopped him in its tracks.

He dropped to the ground. Lydia ran up to the monster and tried to feel for a pulse.

To her relief there was none. The Titan was dead.

Oros and his henchmen were stunned. The villagers on the other side of the valley were equally stunned, but cheered what had happened.

Lydia kept her word. She picked up her arrows and picked off Oros and his henchmen as they tried to flee.

She ran up the steps of the temple, and yanked off the chains from the pillars with her bare hands, freeing the girl, who was about 10, and the boy, who was the same age as Lydia.

"You know, in stories, it's the boy who frees the girl," said the boy, whose name was Calios.

Lyda wrapped her arms around Calios as she pulled off his chains.

"In this story, it's the brave girl who rescues the beautiful boy," Lydia said with a laugh. It was the first time she or he as Lysander, had ever noticed a boy's beauty.

Lydia kissed Calios as his chains fell.

"I guess now I must get you back to your father," Lydia said.

There was a celebratory feast in the village the evening after Lydia's victory over the Titan. She enjoyed the attention, but was ready to go back home to Erastus.

She was also return to return to being Lysander, but her thoughts and emotions were confusing, especially about the boy Calios, with whom she sat next to at the feast. He begged her to come back. Lydia smiled an put a crown of flowers on his head.

She gave him a goodbye kiss before walking away in the procession of priestesses and the Amazons.

"You must visit us again, daughter of Artemis, said a graying woman who served as high priestess in the temple of Apollo," the woman said. "You are always welcome in your uncle's house."

She was the first person to openly realize who Lydia was.

*****

Lysander was glad to be back at the temple. He took his faithful dog to the woods after taking the necklace off.

He enjoyed his time alone. He missed it.

He was surprised Phoebe permitted it as long as he performed his priestess duties. Lysander surprised her by being a model citizen.

He also surprised her, Arianna and the rest of the priestesses by putting the necklace on and being Lydia for no particular reason.

As Lydia, she had free reign in the village and enjoyed the company of women and girls in the marketplace.

"I think I prefer the company of women," Lysander admitted to Arianna, who was amazed that Lysander stayed as Lydia almost as much as he was Lysander.

He also enjoyed one priviledge of being a child of the patron goddess. The pillows in her private chambers were of the utmost comfort and it made it hard sometimes to crawl out from sleep to begin his morning duties.

One particular morning, he felt a warm body lying next to him as he tried to roll out from sleep. As he tried to pull up, a pair of arms wrapped around him and pulled him back down.

He looked back to smiling Artemis.

"I was watching my baby sleep from Olympus," she whispered. "You are so beautiful when you sleep."

"Hello mother," a startled Lysander said. "But in case you haven't noticed, I'm not a baby."

"Nonsence," Artemis said. "You are my baby. And you're going to have to indulge me because I didn't get to snuggle with you when you were little."

Lysander admitted he did enjoy the attention.

"Phoebe will be surprised to see me," Artemis said. "We've got to get up and get baths before breakfast."

Lysander was a bit surprised when she did not leave the chamber when he prepared to crawl into the bath that was constructed just for the goddess.

"What's wrong?" Artemis asked when she noticed Lysander's embarrassment. "You think I haven't seen you naked before."

He was even more surprised when she disrobed and joined him in the bath.

"You've been Lydia, what you see is what you've had, and will have again," Artemis laughed.

She moved over to her son and begin washing his hair.

"I was proud of you, you know?" Artemis asked. "Hera set the whole thing up and you ruined her plans. But we've got plenty of
work to do. You were a bit reckless. You need more training."

Lysander admitted the obvious. His body may have returned to its male form, but it still had bruises and scratches from the
battle.

Lysander did not argue when he and his mother crawled out of the bath even when she picked two regal matching dresses to wear to breakfast.

She braided his hair and did hers. She pulled a shield off the wall.

Lysander was stunned. Even as Lysander, he bore a startling resemblence to his mother.

"I must get Phoebe to contact Phidius," Artemis said. "I need a statue or portrait with my children, Arianna included."

As Artemis said, the priestesses were amazed to find the goddess joining them for breakfast.

"I want to spend time with my children," Artemis said in announcing she had also adopted Arianna as her daughter.

"It does not come with any powers," she said when she presented Arianna with a necklace.

"She will one day be the highest of all my high priestesses," Artemis confided with Phoebe. "Lysander will need her counsel."

Phoebe agreed.

"But what do the Fates say about Lysander" Phoebe asked.

"There are three or four different outcomes," Artemis said. "Most have Lysander choosing to become Lydia, and conceiving. I must guard her from one of those outcomes."

Artemis took Lysander on one final hunting trip before departing for Olympus.

"Your grandfather is still furious at me for having you transform into Lydia," she told Lysander. "But if you weren't Lydia, you
couldn't have defeated the Titan."

"I know," Lysander said.

Artemis sensed there was more on Lysander's mind.

He confessed he enjoyed being Lydia. He also confided about his feelings toward Calios as Lydia.

"Those are only natural feelings," Artemis said. "And Calios is a fine boy. He is destined to become a great king. He is going to be
one who might want to make Lydia his queen."

Lysander blushed at the notion.

"Does it bother you that I talk about you as Lydia?" she asked.

He shook his head no.

"As Lydia, you will have pursuers among kings, and not all will have pure motives," Artemis said. "You will also have choices as Lysander. You must choose wisely. I must teach you to choose wisely."

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Comments

Ping Pong Gender

terrynaut's picture

It must be nice to be able to switch genders at will. That's one of my favorite things about this story.

Please keep writing and I'll keep reading.

Thanks and kudos.

- Terry

Thank you

For continuing this wonderful story. This story looks into just what the gods did on earth. People see only the stories of them feuding in Olympus and forget the accounts of them walking amongst the average persons life testing them to see if they are worthy of favor or deserving of scorn. Aww for the good old days be on your toes or you will find your self under foot.

Huggles
Michele

With those with open eyes the world reads like a book

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Zeus

If he is angry why didn’t he stop her he is the king of the gods after all.

hugs :)
Michelle SidheElf Amaianna